Taylor, Reynolds, Christensen 1

Brad Taylor, Andi Reynolds, Stephen Christensen

Prof. Longhurst
English 1010
November 28, 2016
The Amended Selective Service
We live in a country embedded with a rich and proud military history. We gained our
independence, maintained a kept our country from dividing, fought in two World Wars, and have
served, helped and saved countless numbers of life all through our countrys dependable military.
Yet with all the good our men and women in the armed forces do we still seem to struggle with
the moral question of what role women should play in the military. For a country founded by
white Christian males we have made remarkable advances in equality with gender and race in
our brief sovereign life.
But can certain rights cross gender lines? Obviously a minivan doesnt have the same
towing capacity as a truck, and a truck cant carry near as many passengers as a minivan and
there is nothing wrong with that. Both are wonderful vehicles and can drive you from point A to
point B in relatively the same amount of time. Some issues are like apples and oranges and cant
be compared, or even equaled out. This is the subject which our paper discusses, the issue of
women in the Selective Service. We have combed through multiple sources, taken into account
our own bias, and have come to the conclusion that women do have a role in participating in the
Selective Service, just like every male in this country. But their jobs and positions available to
them in the military should be limited to non-combat positions.

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As we began to explore the issue of females and the draft it quickly became apparent that
find valid and creditable sources. The first sources that we as a group were able to find focused
on a vote in the Senate regarding a bill that would require women to register for the draft. The
vote passed in the Senate with 83-17 vote on the floor. Most notably in the side that voted for the
bill was Senator John McCain from Arizona that feels if women want everything to be fair, it
would only be fair for them to register with the Selective Service as well. This particular vote
was controversial of itself; from the opposing side was Senator Ted Cruz (TX) who is morally
opposed to send our daughters into combat because they do not need to be exposed to the
horrors of war.
Meanwhile the House of Representatives passes a bill that would bar women from being
drafted. The bill included language that prohibited money from being spent to alter the existing
-Selective Service program. The bill passed with a 217-203 on the House floor. This version of
the bill did not change the current system of the draft, saying that more study is needed before
any major changes can be made. Other lawmakers went as far to say that the need for a military
conscription is very remote, yet this system will stand if the nation is ever in need.
Though our lawmakers feel that there should not be a requirement for women to register
in the draft, Marissa Loya, a Marine Platoon Commander, would disagree. The decision to open
all jobs to women expands the talent pool for all positions in the military, so long as an
individual meets the standard. This takes into account that we cannot just put bodies behind
guns or into aircraft, there must be a standard kept. She continues, Requiring women to register
with the selective service vastly expands the number of registered citizens should our nation
implement a draft. (Why Women should be drafted.)

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Other sources cited for the same article were the Army chief of staff and the commandant
of the Marine Corps commenting that with combat positions being open to females, especially
with the new female Rangers, that women should not be exempt from the draft. With this view at
the top of the military commands, it would easy to find this same opinion down the ranks. Along
with those currently in command in the military, there have been others now retired that have
shared their opinion.
One of whom is J. F. Kelly Jr., a retired officer from the United States Navy. In his article,
Why Women Should Not Be Drafted, he eludes that women are not emotionally prepared for
the violence of war. And on that particular view, someone that is not equipped to help the cause
would only hinder it. While he does support women in combat roles as a volunteer service
member and as someone that meets the standards for the position, he makes this comment,
Requiring women to register for the draft now, just because men are, would do nothing to
enhance military readiness, which is the only reason for a draft in the first place, and it would
force many women into a role that most of them are not, by nature or socialization, suited for.
(Why Women Should Not Be Drafted.) He adds that if for any reason a draft is really needed that
the male draftees would be more than enough to meet the number requirements of a large landbased war.
This brings us to the point that can be made even though women may not be the best or
even made for combat by nature that does not mean there is not a role for them to have. Denise
McCallister makes this statement in her article, Men fighting to protect their home is their duty
as men, while maintaining the homeland is the duty of women. Thats not on account of societal
norms but the dictates of nature. (Threats of Drafting Women Reveal the Lies of Equality, The
Federalist) Not to wonder off topic, but in the society in which we live there are some pushing

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for equality in all areas of life. What these individuals fail to recognize is that what they are
really asking for is sameness. Take a car for example, there is a wheel and tire on the road for the
vehicle to move and a wheel inside to steer while moving. Now just because both are round does
not mean that one can take the tire from the road and replace it with the steer wheel and expect
the car to move. The parts are very different yet play an equal part in the vehicles operation.
The same can now be said of the military. There are indeed places for women in the
organization. Those places are just not in combat. Women by nature are not built for the physical
stress of combat and are given the instinct for caregiving and nurturing. It is always best to play
by ones strengths, and that would be to keep women out of combat.
There comes the last question or concern to be addressed, should women be required to
have a type of selective service obligation at all. This is brought up simply because men between
the ages of 18 and 25 are required to be registered in the selective service to even receive
financial assistance for college from the government. Notwithstanding that the draft has not been
used since the Vietnam War, now close to 40 years since the conflict ended, there is still the
mandate to be registered. Many jobs or functions in the military are not combat related and have
a much lower chance of seeing any combat at all. Why not put women in those roles if push
came to shove and move the men to combat? That could appease those seeking for sameness in
the draft while also not putting the average sized woman of 120 pounds on the front line with the
180 pound man and expecting her to drag him off if he is wounded.
In conclusion to this issue, there must be a third side. One that can incorporate the best of
women needing to be registered; yet not putting them in a place that would be to the harm of
themselves or others. A change must be made to the current system to include women. There will

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always be people to oppose new action and others who would take the action to an extreme level.
It is up to the majority of us to make our voices heard and speak what we have on our mind and
in our hearts.
It is time that the feminists pushing for all out inclusion in the Armed Services be allowed
in combat positions, if they can meet the physical requirements of the men, without forcing other
women into that same role that do not have the same body type. At the end of the day we each
have a choice to make, so let us make the right choice.